Even with a fourth straight drivers' championship after 13 wins from 19 races to Sebastian Vettel this year, some still suggest his formula one dominance is due more to the competence of his Red Bull Racing machine than any superhuman talent in the cockpit.

Analyse his success, though, and a picture emerges of a driver who complements his natural speed with clever decision-making.

While many, including his teammate Mark Webber, struggled to extract reasonable durability from marshmallow-like Pirelli tyres quite deliberately conceived to turn races into a tumult of uncertainty, the German showed great delicacy with the throttle and wheel.

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No one else was in the hunt, although Fernando Alonso cajoled his Ferrari to second in the championship. Webber took a fine second place in his swansong in Brazil, snatching third in the championship. Then he headed for the exit. Though still driving as well as ever he lacked the motivation to stay lean and mean. In Malaysia, he should have added another grand prix win to the nine already banked, but the bad-mannered Vettel, a protected species at RBR, ignored team directives.

One Australian departs RBR; another takes his place. Perth's Daniel Ricciardo's challenge is to retain his characteristic 100-watt smile as he attempts to deal with a brilliant four-time world champion teammate who stops at nothing to win.

Sebastian Vettel. Photo: AFP

Off track, two big stories dominated - artful dodger Bernie Ecclestone's attempt to avoid jail on bribery charges and the parlous financial state of some F1 teams. This year, with the departure of the embattled HRT outfit, the F1 grid fell to 22 cars. There are concerns of possible further contraction with the global economy still tight and teams faced with the cost of new turbo engines in 2014. Heading into Christmas, even McLaren has not locked in a major sponsor for the coming season.

MotoGP

No one quite predicted the impact of the fast-learning, lightning-quick rookie Marc Marquez, who rocked MotoGP by winning the world championship in his first year in the premier category. A once-in-a-generation rider, Marquez delivered spectacular wins with a smile that reveals joy and brio in spades. A fearless, no-prisoners riding style produced memorable scraps with fellow Spaniards Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa. An injury to defending champ Lorenzo handed 20-year-old Marquez the advantage in the final grands prix. A good-news story was veteran Valentino Rossi winning the Dutch TT, his first win since Malaysia in 2010.

SUPERBIKES

Britain's Tom Sykes landed Kawasaki its first World Superbike title in 20 years. A year earlier Sykes missed the crown by half a point. Sykes is clearly a student of anatomy. "You need some big balls for turn one, and luckily mine are like melons," he offered at Laguna Seca. After looking a little sick at times in recent years, World Superbikes is on the rebound with newcomers MV Augusta and Buell boosting the number of makes to eight.

LE MANS

The death of Dane Allan Simonsen, a regular competitor in Australian racing, cast a pall over this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. But in the traditions of motor sport, the show went on, and the enduro was again won by Audi, with an R18 e-tron quattro driven by Tom Christensen/Loic Duval/Allan McNish. Toyota was runner-up … again.

WORLD RALLYING

With nine-time champ Sebastien Loeb retired from full-time rallying (he drove in a few selected events), the 2013 World Rally Championship was a golden opportunity for established competitors and a couple of newcomers to step up. Driving for WRC debutant Volkswagen, the seasoned Sebastien Ogier won the drivers' title and helped VW to the constructors' championship.

NASCAR

Prevailing after the unrelentingly tough odyssey of 36 Sprint Cup races from Daytona to Homestead, was Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson, now a six-time NASCAR champion. Many are now saying Johnson could be the best ever, better even than the king, Richard Petty. Australia's Marcos Ambrose had an ordinary Sprint Cup season, finishing 22nd in his RPM Ford. Rare highlights were a pole at the Watkins Glen road course and six top-10 finishes.

SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX

The 2013 speedway grand prix title series went to the tearaway Tai Woffinden, who overcame two broken collarbones on the way to the crown. He's an Australian-raised Brit who readily acknowledges his early riding days in Perth where he was an under-16 champ before his parents moved from a WA beach back to Britain to allow their son to pursue his dreams from a caravan in Scunthorpe.

INDY CARS

Australian-born Kiwi Scott Dixon this year collected his third US Indycar championship, driving for the Ganassi team and edging out Penske's Helio Castroneves. Australian Will Power (Penske) won three races and took fourth overall. The tight title battle produced tensions between the two big teams - Ganassi and Penske. But the series has taken a hit with the retirement of four-time champ and three-time Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti, who was seriously hurt in the last race of the year.